This invention relates generally to interactive video communications and more particularly concerns viewer controlled selection of programming guide information and programming.
Programming guide information is presently displayed to the home TV viewer in non-interactive pages or scrolls of characters conveying programming guide information. Presently known in-home video guide hardware is either attached to or manufactured within a television set and produces interactive program guides that allow users, at their leisure, to peruse program information and make a viewing selection based upon information presented. However, the viewer either has to wait through a scroll of the information, view the information on a page of text, or manually navigate to the information. Unless the viewer manually navigates to event information provided or happens to view the information in a scroll or pages of text, the viewer is unaware of the current and future events that are available.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware by which a home viewer may be informed, in real-time, of events that are available currently or will in the future be available for viewing. Another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which alert a viewer to the availability of selected current or future program events. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit a viewer to access information about selected programming without changing channels. Another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit a viewer to interact with information and prompts respecting selected programming without changing channels. A further object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which ascertain whether an event is current or future. Still another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit the viewer to choose whether a program will be recorded or not recorded. It is also an object of this invention to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit the viewer to choose whether a program will be recorded with or without copy protection. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit the viewer to view a display of the cost of the event. And it is an object of this invention to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which permit the viewer to authorize payment for access to a selected program.